Posted on 07/28/2008 8:37:15 AM PDT by DAVEY CROCKETT
Is U.S. Bioterror Attack Just A Matter of Time?
The overriding question is whether the U.S. is “ready” for a bioterror attack. The answer could well rely on the “other” question of what bio-agent and what’s the source? In 1991, 40,000 Russian scientists dispersed throughout the World, with knowledge of what the U.S.S.R. was doing in chemical and biological weapons. The question is to whom did they sell their knowledge? Some believe former Soviet scientists sold technology to countries like Iran, Syria, and North Korea. Lurking is the spectre of al-Qaeda, a group that the Pentagon says continues to pursue biological weapons.
Another scenario is an outbreak of a pandemic. How would the U.S. deal with an infectious disease outbreak? The picture, despite reassurances, is not pretty. Until now, the U.S. has experienced two major biological attacks.
In 1984, the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and his followers attempted to take over the town of the Dalles, Oregon by contaminating salad bars in the town. In 2001, there was the as yet unsolved mystery of the anthrax letters that killed five people.
But the question of bioterrorism extends to potential threats against our food supply and our clean water resources. It also extends to the threat of outbreaks of diseases in our animals populations. Here, the concern are diseases that attack animals but that can jump to humans. These are referred to as zoonotic diseases. The World Health Organization defines zonnotic diseases as:
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September 30, 2008 Anti-Terrorism News - UnitedStatesAction.com
(Iraq) Three die in Baghdad bombing as Eid begins
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080930/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrestbaghdad_080930142931;_ylt=AnGnmJzPO7.ZXvYnKI_uz6pX6GMA
— Iraqi police: Car bomb in Baghdad kills 3
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080930/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq_20;_ylt=AoW.lJvozwM96jYa5ebEu3hX6GMA
(Iraq) Young Iraqi girls turned into perfect weapon
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article4849336.ece
(Afghanistan) Three U.S.-led soldiers killed in southern Afghanistan
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080930/wl_nm/us_afghan_violence_2;_ylt=AgRGNi1YbMbqPC4AggpJYdPOVooA
http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=1941158&Language=en
(Afghanistan) Taliban chief vows ‘safe retreat’ for foreign troops: statement
-— Taliban’s Mullah Omar: “I say to the invaders: if you leave our country, we will provide you the
safe context to do so”
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080930/wl_sthasia_afp/afghanistanunresttaliban_080930112004;_ylt=AshL1IGJk.mfaIyY2AC90HLOVooA
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2008/September/middleeast_September587.xml§ion=middleeast
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24425998-23109,00.html
(Afghanistan) Karzai seeks Saudi help in Taliban peace talks
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/sep/30/karzai-seeks-saudi-help-in-taliban-peace-talks/
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080930/ap_on_re_as/as_afghanistan_17
-— Karzai “has reached out to Taliban leader Mullah Omar to ‘come back to your home soil and
work for the happiness of the people.’”
— Afghanistan seeks Saudi help to talk with Taliban
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080930/ap_on_re_as/as_afghanistan_19;_ylt=Atqd0lks3yWqsyf9LWCg9FvOVooA
-— Karzai: “For the last two years, I’ve sent letters to the king of Saudi Arabia, and I’ve sent messages, and
I requested from him as the leader of the Islamic world, for the security and prosperity of Afghanistan and
for reconciliation in Afghanistan ... he should help us”
— Afghans use Saudi Arabia to broker peace with Taliban
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/3109557/Afghans-use-Saudi-Arabia-to-broker-peace-with-Taliban.html
-— see also: September 29, 2007 Jeffrey Imm article “Are the Taliban ‘The Enemy’ or Not?”
http://www.unitedstatesaction.com/blog/imm-articles/057.html
—— last year’s call by Karzai to offer Taliban a place in Afghanistan government
(Afghanistan) No winter halt in war against the Taliban
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article4849531.ece
(Afghanistan/Pakistan) ‘Taliban crossing Pak-Afghan border to fight in Bajaur’
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\09\30\story_30-9-2008_pg7_8
(Pakistan) Sindh: Talibanization spreading in Karachi: Altaf
-— Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Altaf Hussain argues for MQM’s version of Sharia law
that should be implemented in Karachi — as an “anti-Taliban” position
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\09\30\story_30-9-2008_pg7_34
Pakistan: Kidnapped Afghan envoy ‘freed’
http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=3.0.2518472236
Pakistan must deal with Taliban threat: Petraeus
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\09\30\story_30-9-2008_pg7_1
(Pakistan) FATA: US cites laws, UN Charter to justify FATA raids
http://www.dawn.com/2008/09/30/top4.htm
(Pakistan) FATA: 4 Taliban, 9 tribesmen killed in Bajaur fighting
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\09\30\story_30-9-2008_pg7_5
(Pakistan) NWFP: Shariah in Malakand — NWFP chief minister to get Pakistan President, PM “on board”
http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=138811
-— NWFP govt finalizes draft Nizam-e-Adl Regulations 2008
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\09\28\story_28-9-2008_pg7_18
(Pakistan) NWFP: Swat curfew lifted, Taliban announce ceasefire
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\09\30\story_30-9-2008_pg7_6
Pakistan’s main intel agency names new chief
-— Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shujaa Pasha as head of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080930/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan_spy_chief_7;_ylt=AsHPwwAtZDeJKWWkdXLXdszzPukA
-— Defense analyst reportedly states “the changes appeared to be an effort by Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani
- who succeeded Musharraf as army chief and once headed the ISI himself - to consolidate his control
over the military.”
—— Report: Kayani knew of ISI plan to bomb India Embassy in Afghanistan’s Kabul, say US officials
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Kayani-knew-of-ISI-plan-to-bomb-India-Embassy-in-Kabul-say-US-officials/360399/
-— see also: ISI chief, four corps commanders changed
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\09\30\story_30-9-2008_pg1_1
(Pakistan) ‘Terrorist trainer’ remanded in transporter’s kidnapping case — Raheemullah alias Naeem alias
Ali Hasan - in Karchi
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\09\30\story_30-9-2008_pg7_37
(Pakistan) Balochistan: All cases against Baloch leaders dropped
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\09\30\story_30-9-2008_pg1_6
(Pakistan) Balochistan: 4 Pak soldiers killed in landmine blast
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Pakistan/4_Pak_soldiers_killed_in_landmine_blast/articleshow/3545347.cms
(Pakistan) Balochistan: Govt urged to stop operation in Dera Bugti
(Bangladesh) B’desh authorities closely watching activites of Islamic Democratic Party (IDP)
-— the group formerly known as terrorist group Harkatul Jihad Al Islami (HuJI)
http://www.chennaionline.com/colnews/newsitem.asp?NEWSID={FE1D57D5-8C0D-4AC6-AE57-5C124872E159}&CATEGORYNAME=INTER
-— Terror outfit HuJI now a political party in Bangladesh
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Terror-outfit-HuJI-now-a-political-party-in-Bangladesh/367594
-— Islamist leaders float political party
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=244713&version=1&template_id=44&parent_id=24
(India) Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) papers found at Khaleel’s house
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/SIMI_papers_found_at_Khaleels_house/articleshow/3538285.cms
-— Mohammed Khaleel Mohammed Ismail Chauhan at Kahadwad
(India) Malegaon: India blast was ‘terrorist attack’: police — 7 killed, 82 wounded
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/international/2008/September/international_September2588.xml§ion=international
(India) Hunt on to nab ‘bomb’ planters
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Hunt_on_to_nab_bomb_planters/articleshow/3542809.cms
(India) Govt may amend Explosives Act to check Ammonium Nitrate use
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Govt_may_amend_Explosives_Act_to_check_Ammonium_Nitrate_use/articleshow/3545627.cms
India stampede kills at least 168 after false bomb threat
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/as_india_temple_stampede
(U.S.) Chicago: Islam convert gets 35 years in plot to attack mall
— Derrick Shareef convicted of plot “to blow off hand grenades in a crowded shopping mall
during the Christmas season”
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080930/ap_on_re_us/terror_sentence
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/sep/30/islam-convert-gets-35-years-in-plot-to-attack-mall/
(U.S.) Dallas: Holy Land Foundation Trial: Holy Land Evidence Establishes Hamas Link — IPT News
http://www.investigativeproject.org/article/781
(U.S.) Dallas: Holy Land Foundation Trial: Holy Land trial spectator chewed out as prosecution chugs
along with flurry of records
http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/09/holy-land-trial-spectator-chew.html
(U.S.) Dallas: Holy Land Foundation Trial: Holy Land Foundation jurors see Hamas kindergarten video
http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/archives/holy-land-foundation/
-— September 23, 2008
(U.S.) Dallas Morning News: “Controversial terrorism expert Steven Emerson warns against ‘legal jihad’
in Dallas speech”
http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/09/controversial-terrorism-expert.html
-— September 26, 2008
(U.S.) New Jersey: Trial for Fort Dix Five begins today
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20080929_Trial_for_Fort_Dix_Five_begins_today.html
-— trial based on “conversations, prosecutors say, detail ‘plans to attack Fort Dix and kill American soldiers’
and include ‘discussions of the supposed justifications for such attacks rooted in radical jihadist ideology’”
-— 1,500 potential jurors
(U.S.) Report: “New al-Qaida threat: Thermobaric bombs — Packs power like a nuke, but easier to build,
blow up”
-— WorldNetDaily report says Pakistan Marriott Hotel bombing example of thermobaric bombs using
off-the-shelf products
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=76544
U.S. urged to go on offense in cyberwar
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/sep/29/us-urged-to-go-on-offense-in-cyberwar/
(U.S.) Video: HomelandSecurity Today: The Senate DHS Authorization Bill
http://hstoday.us/content/view/5369/247/
(UK) MI6 photos sold on auction site — “said to contain the UK external intelligence service ‘MI6’ images of terror suspects”
http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=1941193&Language=en
— Ebay camera contains ‘secret’ MI6 terrorist images
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/sep/30/terrorism.ebay
—— “New owner finds photos of images of launchers, missiles, terror suspects and their details on camera”
Iran’s influence? You can hear it on Iraqi streets
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080930/wl_nm/us_iran_influence_2;_ylt=AvNgs7fpntHgFw6Hs3e1gGNSw60A
Syria poses ‘direct threat’ to Lebanon: Hariri
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2008/September/middleeast_September588.xml§ion=middleeast
(Syria) Analysis: Sunni extremists suspected in Tripoli and Damascus blasts
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article4847869.ece
Syria-Saudi Tension Increases Following Damascus Bombing
http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/10176.htm
Hamas challenges Abbas term extension
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1222017419658&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
(Israel) Jerusalem to Host Anti-Jihad Convention in December — “Facing Jihad Conference”
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/153732
(UAE) Dubai: Al-Qaeda planning to bomb Atlantis hotel - report
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/532755-al-qaeda-planning-to-bomb-atlantis-—report?ln=en
(Somalia) Child killed in Somali blast — in Mogadishu
http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,,2-11-1447_2401988,00.html
(Somalia) Islamists plunder weapons from hijacked ship in Somalia
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article4842684.ece
(Somalia) Mysterious Cargo Aboard Iranian Ship Seized by Pirates Raises WMD Concerns
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,430681,00.html
(Somalia) US official says 3 pirates may be dead in shootout
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/sep/30/us-official-says-3-pirates-may-be-dead-in-shootout/
-— Somali pirates on ship deny report of shootout
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/sep/30/somali-pirates-on-ship-deny-report-of-shootout/
(Somalia) Pirates celebrate Muslim feast of Eid al-Fitr with US warships and helicopters nearby
http://english.pravda.ru/news/world/30-09-2008/106497-pirates-0
Somalia: UN Envoy Likens Piracy Off Somalia to ‘Blood Diamonds’ Trafficking
http://allafrica.com/stories/200809300031.html
Somalia: Fighting Forces 18,500 to Flee Mogadishu
http://allafrica.com/stories/200809291344.html
Nigerian military: 443 militant suspects arrested
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/30/africa/AF-Nigeria-Oil-Unrest.php
Mali: Insecurity Persists Despite Militia Leader’s Arrest
http://allafrica.com/stories/200809300033.html
(Egypt) Hostage: Kidnappers abruptly released us into the desert
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1222017426378&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
— Egypt hostages: We were released, not rescued
—— Telegraph: “The comments appeared to strengthen speculation that a ransom might have been paid.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/3109257/Egypt-hostages-We-were-released-not-rescued.html
— German, Italian ex-hostages back home from Egypt
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/30/europe/EU-Europe-Kidnapped-Tourists.php
(Russia) Suicide car bomb kills bystander in Russia — in Nazran, Ingushetia’s principal city
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/30/europe/EU-Russia-Car-Bomb.php
(Europe) EU to introduce ‘virtual strip searches’ at airports by 2010
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/3110533/EU-to-introduce-virtual-strip-searches-at-airports-by-2010.html
German Terror Arrests: From the Rhine River to the Jihad
— Der Spiegel states investigators fear German Jihadists coming back from “training”
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,581152,00.html
(France) Batasuna leaders arrested in France — “as part of an investigation into the financing of
Basque terrorist group ETA”
http://www.expatica.com/es/articles/news/Batasuna_s-leaders-arrested-in-France.html
Canadians believe U.S. and al-Qaeda at a stalemate
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=846698
Nuclear watchdog to combat terrorist threat — World Institute for Nuclear Security (WINS)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/austria/3107404/Nuclear-watchdog-to-combat-terrorist-threat.html
(Philippines) 7 soldiers slain in Maguindanao clashes
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view/20080930-163753/7-soldiers-slain-in-Maguindanao-clashes
(Philippines) Mindanao dialogues to start after Ramadan - Esperon
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/124025/Mindanao-dialogues-to-start-after-Ramadan-—Esperon
Sri Lanka says it sinks 2 rebel boats
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/30/asia/AS-Sri-Lanka-Civil-War.php
(North Korea) US nuclear envoy on mission to salvage North Korea deal
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080930/ap_on_re_as/as_koreas_nuclear_5;_ylt=As5hxGE0Isd6H8ZZ.xAJ4myCscEA
Commentaries:
Mainstream US Islamic Websites — and Terror — by Patrick Poole
http://frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=778298C8-BB61-4546-A7E4-1935AF5868D9
-— “Islamicity is run by Human Assistance and Development International (HUDI), a tax-exempt not-for-profit
organization based in Culver City, California
-— Islamicity “is backed by some heavy-hitters in the North American Islamic community, most notably
Jamal Badawi and Abdullah Idris Ali, both on the board of directors of the Islamic Society of North America”
-— “Islamicity.com, which operates an entire video channel dedicated to Yemeni Al-Qaeda cleric and
bin Laden mentor, Abd al-Majid Al-Zindani”
-— “Another major supporter is Dr. Ahmed Sakr, one of the original founders and former president of the Muslim Student Association of the US and Canada”
-— Samir “Khan continues to operate his website with impunity” - inshallahshahid
(U.S.) The DHS National Biosurveillance Integration Center – Ready or Not, Opening September 30th
— by Dr. Robin McFee
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.1315/pub_detail.asp
(Europe) The distant sound of breaking glass — by Melanie Phillips
http://www.spectator.co.uk/melaniephillips/2183566/the-distant-sound-of-breaking-glass.thtml
— JihadWatch.org - Melanie Phillips: “The leaders of the democracies are...burying their heads in the sand”
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/022898.php
(Europe) A Wise Warning from Europe about America’s Future — by Geert Wilders
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.1319/pub_detail.asp
(UK) The Devil in Miss Jones – ‘The Jewel of Medina’ Exposed - by Adrian Morgan
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.1318/pub_detail.asp
-— Sherry Jones previous quote: “To claim that Muslims will answer my book with violence is pure nonsense.”
Other News:
Islamic stock markets performing well
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/programguide/stories/200809/s2377386.htm
Asia’s Islamic finance sector weathering storm well
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/programguide/stories/200809/s2377621.htm
Somalia: Kismayo’s Islamists to Build a Mosque At Old Church Site
http://allafrica.com/stories/200809300621.html
Bosnia: Muslim religious leader calls for nation-building
http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Politics/?id=3.0.2522002345
Iran: Two religious ‘converts’ freed but others still in jail — converts to Christianity
- Mahmoud Matin Azad and Arash Basirat
http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Religion/?id=3.0.2522344642
(Syria) Liberal Syrian Intellectual Georges Tarabishi: Without Secularism, There Can Be No Democracy
http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=SD206708
Syria, Afghanistan battle for IAEA influence
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1222017426881&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
(UK) Nine-year-old brides saved by authorities from being married off in Muslim weddings
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1063605/Nine-year-old-brides-saved-authorities-married-Muslim-weddings.html?ITO=1490
(UK) Muslim fork lift driver sues Tesco after handling booze
http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2008/09/29/47681/muslim-fork-lift-driver-sues-tesco-after-handling-booze.html
(UK) Birmingham private Islamic school’s bid to become state-funded
http://www.birminghampost.net/news/west-midlands-education-news/2008/09/29/birmingham-private-islamic-school-s-bid-to-become-state-funded-65233-21923520/
(Denmark) Copenhagen: Two arrested for honor-related violence
http://islamineurope.blogspot.com/2008/09/copenhagen-two-arrested-for-honor.html
— Source: Berlinske (Danish)
http://www.berlingske.dk/article/20080927/danmark/80927024/
Norway: Muslims might become a majority
http://islamineurope.blogspot.com/2008/09/norway-muslims-might-become-majority.html
(France) Paris: Bank, driving school reject women with headscarf
http://islamineurope.blogspot.com/2008/09/paris-bank-driving-school-reject-women.html
(Netherlands) Moroccan Dutch youth ambivalent toward Islam
http://www.expatica.com/nl/articles/news/Moroccan-Dutch-youth-ambivalent-toward-Islam.html
‘Islam in Europe’ on ‘Pakistan Daily’
http://islamineurope.blogspot.com/2008/09/islam-in-europe-on-pakistan-daily.html
(U.S.) Lawmakers want probe of US exports to Iran
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/30/america/Iran-Buying-American.php
(U.S.) Reports Warn of Problems at Ground Zero Hub in NYC
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=5917075
(U.S.) Palin: Pakistan remark was a response to a voter
— “I said we’re gonna do what we have to do to protect the United States of America”
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080930/ap_on_el_pr/palin_pakistan_6;_ylt=ArXORJAW5ocxxySiluy_R1fzPukA
(U.S.) Guantanamo Bay: A Chinese Muslim in Gitmo legal limbo
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-gitmo-uighurssep29,0,3841799.story?track=rss
(China) AP: “China’s Muslims say Ramadan a time of repression”
http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/sep/28/chinas-muslims-say-ramadan-a-time-of-repression/
(Saudi Arabia) Hundreds of thousands of Muslims converge on Mecca
— Daily Mail reporter: “It’s one of the most awe-inspiring sights in religion”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1065271/Pictured-Awesome-spectacle-hundreds-thousands-Muslims-converge-Mecca.html
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2008/09/30/article-0-02D92C1200000578-74_468x311_popup.jpg
(UK) Suicide teenager urged to jump by baying crowd
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/3108987/Suicide-teenager-urged-to-jump-by-baying-crowd.html
Propaganda:
Oregonian: “Obsession” smells: It’s propaganda, professor argues — by Tom H. Hastings
(Portland State University)
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2008/09/obsession_smells.html
Middle East Online: Naming the Enemy — by Hesham A. Hassaballa
-— “A ‘jihadist’ is generally a devout Muslim seeking spiritual transformation”
http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=28105
__._,_.___
If reposting elsewhere, please credit source of this research as UnitedStatesAction.com
(Pakistan) Geo TV Report: Taliban’s “Baitullah Mehsood passes away”
-— Pakistan media report claims Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud is dead from kidney failure
http://www.geo.tv/10-1-2008/26018.htm
-— CNN Report: “Pakistani Taliban leader dead, sources say”
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/09/30/taliban.official.dead/index.html?iref=mpstoryview
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/09/30/taliban.official.dead/index.html?section=cnn_latest
-— IST/ANI: “Pak Taliban chief Mehsud seriously ill, slips into coma”
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Pakistan/Pak_Taliban_chief_Mehsud_seriously_ill_slips_into_coma/rssarticleshow/3536353.cms
-— IST: Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud dies: Report
http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/oct/01taliban.htm
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=WorldSectionPage&id=fc6f54a7-94f9-4b89-a1b0-10ce0076e92a&&Headline=Pak+Taliban+commander+Baitullah+Mehsud+dies%3a+report
__._,_.___
Then Jeffrey sent this link:
-— Bill Roggio’s Long War Journal: Reports of Baitullah’s death are false, sources say
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2008/09/reports_of_baitullah.php
If reposting elsewhere, please credit source of this research as UnitedStatesAction.com
*Islamabad replaces spy agency chief*
Web posted at: 10/1/2008 0:12:1
ISLAMABAD • Pakistan has appointed a new head of its powerful
Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, amid US accusations that the
military spy organisation secretly backs Taliban rebels on the Afghan
border.
Lieutenant General Ahmed Shujaa Pasha, formerly head of military
operations, was named director general of the ISI late Monday, a terse
military statement announced. He replaces Lieutenant General Nadeem Taj.
The move is part of a major shake-up of the army’s top brass after US,
Afghan and Indian officials alleged in recent months that the shadowy
organisation was complicit in the Taliban insurgency wracking the region.
Pasha is considered to be a close aide to the relatively reformist
Pakistani military chief Ashfaq Kayani, who ran the ISI until October
2007. Taj, by contrast, was a key lieutenant of former president Pervez
Musharraf.
The army insisted the 14 new appointments announced on Monday were
routine.
“These were the changes due over a period of time. This is how the
system works in the army,” chief military spokesman Major General Athar
Abbas said.
But movements in Pakistan’s military and intelligence services are
closely watched by the United States and other allies for signs of the
nuclear-armed nation’s stability and commitment to the “war on terror”.
“The change comes at a time when there was a lot of talk about ISI in
the Western media,” security analyst Talat Masood, a retired Pakistan
army general, said.
“With the new ISI chief, General Kayani has completed a team of his
choice. He will be able to now lead the army with greater confidence.”
In his previous job, Pasha was responsible for military offensives
against Al Qaeda and Taliban militants in northwest Pakistan and the
troubled tribal belt bordering Afghanistan. The ISI has helped capture
or kill hundreds of senior Al Qaeda militants in Pakistan since
Musharraf joined the “war on terror” in 2001, including Khalid Sheikh
Mohammed, the self-confessed 9/11 mastermind.
But many Western officials suspect that, having helped to create
Afghanistan’s hardline 1996-2001 Taliban regime, the organisation is
still playing a double game.
In August, the NATO commander in Afghanistan, US General David D
McKiernan, said there “certainly is a level of ISI complicity” in
Taliban militancy along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
Whether US forces should strike militant targets in Pakistan if the ISI
and other agencies fail to do so has become an issue in the US election
race, with Democratic candidate Barack Obama backing such attacks.
Afghanistan, which is supposed to be Pakistan’s ally against extremism,
and India, Islamabad’s historic foe, accused the ISI of involvement in
the deadly bombing of the Indian embassy in Kabul in July.
Pakistan strongly denies any such links, although Musharraf admitted in
2006 that some retired Pakistani intelligence officers may have been
abetting
extremists.
The ISI is feared at home as it plays a central, although covert,
political role in a country that has spent more than half of its 61-year
history under military rule.
The change in the ISI comes after the government led by President Asif
Ali Zardari, the widower of slain former premier Benazir Bhutto, tried
to put the elite agency under the control of the interior ministry in July.
That move was hastily withdrawn after a protest by Pakistan’s powerful
military establishment.
In theory ISI works under the control of the prime minister, but in
practice its functions are mainly run by Pakistan’s pervasive security
set-up.
September 30, 2008 PM Anti-Terrorism News - UnitedStatesAction.com
(Iraq) American soldier killed in armed clashes north of Baghdad
http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/Categories.aspx?Language=en&id=102
(Iraq) Pentagon announces 2009 deployments to Iraq
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080930/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_iraq_troops_2;_ylt=AtF.BhpRwDySmz_aSs3uA6dX6GMA
(Pakistan) Geo TV Report: “Taliban’s “Baitullah Mehsood passes away”
-— Pakistan media report claims Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud is dead from kidney failure
http://www.geo.tv/10-1-2008/26018.htm
-— CNN Report: “Pakistani Taliban leader dead, sources say”
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/09/30/taliban.official.dead/index.html?iref=mpstoryview
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/09/30/taliban.official.dead/index.html?section=cnn_latest
-— IST/ANI: “Pak Taliban chief Mehsud seriously ill, slips into coma”
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Pakistan/Pak_Taliban_chief_Mehsud_seriously_ill_slips_into_coma/rssarticleshow/3536353.cms
-— IST: “Taliban commander Baitullah Mehsud dies: Report”
http://www.rediff.com/news/2008/oct/01taliban.htm
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=WorldSectionPage&id=fc6f54a7-94f9-4b89-a1b0-10ce0076e92a&&Headline=Pak+Taliban+commander+Baitullah+Mehsud+dies%3a+report
-— NOTE: Bill Roggio’s Long War Journal: “Reports of Baitullah’s death are false, sources say”
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2008/09/reports_of_baitullah.php
(Pakistan) NBC: The “Talibanization” of Pakistan’s Biggest City — regarding Karachi
http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/09/30/1469342.aspx
-— Asked “What do you think about the U.S. incursions?” reply was “God willing, we will fight them”
-— Another person interviewed: “We are all frightened. The Taliban has taken over.”
(Pakistan) NWFP: ‘Shariah law will cause judicial complications’
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\10\01\story_1-10-2008_pg7_17
(Pakistan) Taliban wants prisoner swap
http://www.asianage.com/presentation/leftnavigation/news/international/taliban-wants-prisoner-swap.aspx
(Pakistan) FATA: U.S. drone strike kills five in Pakistan: officials — near Mir Ali in North Waziristan
-— reports of dead include “foreign militants”
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080930/wl_nm/us_pakistan_missile_1;_ylt=AhZbPAxGDH4Jf31U6Dq6xNfzPukA
— AFP identifies target as in village of Khusali Toorikhel — “after Pashtun tribesman shot at three drones”
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080930/wl_asia_afp/pakistanafghanistanunrestmissile_080930205313;_ylt=Aph0cW_0cFhaBvToPnTU723zPukA
(Pakistan) FATA: Drawing a Red Line Around the Taliban
http://abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=5918959&page=1
(Pakistan) FATA: Army-backed tribesmen kill several Taliban
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\10\01\story_1-10-2008_pg7_1
-— Pakistan turns to tribal militias to combat Taliban’
-—— Wall Street Journal says some analysts fear mini civil war in Tribal Areas
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\10\01\story_1-10-2008_pg7_9
(Pakistan) Al-Qaeda criticizes Pakistani leaders in new video — September 29, 2008: “an unnamed
narrator speaking Urdu calls on Pakistani Muslims to prepare for holy war and take up arms against
corrupt governments”
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20080929-1349-ml-al-qaida-video.html
(Pakistan) Red warrants for 5 involved in Zardari murder attempt
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\10\01\story_1-10-2008_pg7_5
(Pakistan) Five ‘terrorists’ arrested from Gujranwala
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\10\01\story_1-10-2008_pg7_7
(Pakistan) Media rapped for reporting Afghan envoy rumour
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\10\01\story_1-10-2008_pg7_14
(Pakistan) 4 security men killed near Sui
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\10\01\story_1-10-2008_pg7_2
(India J&K) ‘Most wanted’ militant killed in Kashmir shootout — Pakistani Abu Sarjeel, alias Khubaib,
was member of Jaish-e-Muhammad
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2008\10\01\story_1-10-2008_pg7_8
(U.S.) Holy Land Foundation Retrial: Holy Land Evidence Establishes Hamas Link — FBI agent Lara Burns
http://www.investigativeproject.org/article/781
(U.S.) Holy Land Foundation Retrial: Key evidence unveiled in Muslim charity in Holy Land case
— September 29, 2008
http://www.kauz.com/news/local/29899874.html
(U.S.) Fort Dix Trial: Prosecutors move on anonymous jury in Ft. Dix trial
http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080930/NEWS01/809300372
-— Potential Jurors Kept Secret in Fort Dix Plot Trial
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,430161,00.html
(U.S.) New York judge okays lawsuit against Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1222017427370&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
(U.S.) Ex-FBI Analyst Predicts Attack After Election — Frederick Stremmel
http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/Kessler_al_Quaida_terror/2008/09/30/135910.html?utm_medium=RSS
(UK) Government has neglected threat of radicalization, says Grieve
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/sep/30/dominicgrieve.toryconference
Iran may limit IAEA access to nuclear sites: MP
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080930/wl_mideast_afp/irannuclearpolitics_080930164749;_ylt=AvhEcO5iLmFOHW.1F2NUGu5Sw60A
Africans wary on new US command for continent
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/30/africa/AF-Americas-Africa-Command.php
(Philippines) Villagers arm against Philippine rebels
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c2cae5c4-8e87-11dd-9b46-0000779fd18c.html?nclick_check=1
Australia changes terrorism alert system
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200809/s2378404.htm?tab=latest
Commentaries:
(Somalia) Jihad on the High Seas - by Stephen Brown
http://frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=4AE8301C-F8FE-458A-A3F5-98BCB1959161
Other News:
Group concerned over fatwa increase — Journalists being targeted by religious officials
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117993132.html?categoryid=19&cs=1&nid=2562
-— Report says Reporters Sans Frontiers “has expressed concern over a surge in fatwas,
or religious decrees, calling for the murder of journalists in Arab and Muslim countries”
(U.S.) “CAIR Asks IRS to Probe Group Behind Swing State Anti-Muslim DVDs”
— more attacks on Obsession DVDs
http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20080930/pl_usnw/cair_asks_irs_to_probe_group_behind_swing_state_anti_muslim_dvds
(U.S.) Ohio: Police: No evidence of hate crime at local mosque
http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/09/29/ddn092908mosquefoloweb.html
— see JihadWatch.org report
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/022904.php
Somali Islamists begin to demolish a church — in Kismayo
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/30/africa/AF-Somalia-Church-Demolition.php?pass=true
-— al-Shabab “vowed to do the same with all other non-Muslim places of worship they find in the area”
Somali House Church Attacked for the Second Time — in Tayeglow
http://www.persecution.org/suffering/newssummpopup.php?newscode=8618
-— “attacked the Christians worshipping at the church with spears, machetes, sticks and stones”
Kenya: Islamists attack church in Northern Town — in Garissa - pelted congregation with stones
- attacked during Sunday service by 50 Muslim youths
http://www.compassdirect.org/en/display.php?page=breaking&lang=en&length=long&idelement=5606
Indonesia: Pastor forced to stop worship services in home
http://www.compassdirect.org/en/display.php?page=news&length=long&lang=en&idelement=5603
(UK) Publisher of Controversial Book on Prophet Muhammad Closes Office Over Security Concerns
— “The Jewel of Medina” publisher closes office as a “precautionary action”
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,430923,00.html
(UK) Anger Over Islamic ‘Porn’ Comment — more on “The Jewel of Medina” book
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/The-Jewel-of-the-Medina-Call-For-Apology-Over-Mohammed-Book-Review/Article/200809415108926?f=rss
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/The-Jewel-of-the-Medina-Call-For-Apology-Over-Mohammed-Book-Review/Article/200809415108926?lpos=UK_News_News_Your_Way_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15108926_The_Jewel_of_the_Medina%3A_Call_For_Apology_Over_Mohammed_Book_Review
(UK) London Times: “Salman Rushdie unrepentant about Satanic Verses”
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/clive_james/article4856150.ece
(Denmark) Interview with Danish Prime Minister Rasmussen: ‘Islam Sometimes has Problems
in Understanding Free Speech’
http://www.metimes.com/International/2008/09/30/islam_sometimes_has_problems_in_understanding_free_speech/8229/
Thai film delves into murky Muslim insurgency — “Citizen Juling”
http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSTRE48T6O120080930?feedType=RSS&feedName=entertainmentNews
(U.S.) New York Museum Cancels Terror Exhibition After Controversy
— Chelsea Art Museum’s “The Dialectics of Terror”
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,430584,00.html
-— Chelsea Art Museum promotion of “The Dialectics of Terror” exhibit,
previously called “The Aesthetics of Terror”
http://74.6.239.67/search/cache?ei=UTF-8&p=%22The+Dialectics+of+Terror%22&fr=yfp-t-501&u=www.chelseaartmuseum.org/exhibits/future-exhibits.html&w=%22the+dialectics+of+terror%22&d=adp5VPReRgKt&icp=1&.intl=us
http://www.chelseaartmuseum.org/exhibits/2008/terror/Pogacean,-Cristi-%27%27The-Abd.jpg
-— NY Arts Magazine on “The Aesthetics of Terror” exhibit
http://www.nyartsmagazine.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=289270&Itemid=25
http://www.nyartsmagazine.com/images/stories/magazine/2008/09-10/terror.jpg
-— The Aesthetics of Terror at The Chelsea Art Museum - Cancelled.
http://joshazzarella.com/blog/?p=532
-— Chelsea Art Museum’s ‘Terror’ Cancellation Heats Up
http://www.mediabistro.com/unbeige/museums/chelsea_art_museums_terror_cancellation_heats_up_95990.asp
-— Chelsea Art Museum President Dorothea Keeser and Curator Manon Slome Respond
http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=Chelsea+Art+Museum+President+Dorothea+Keeser+and+Curator+Manon+Slome+Respond&fr=yfp-t-501&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8
-— The Chelsea Art Museum’s Dialectics of Terror Catalog Raises More Questions
http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=The+Chelsea+Art+Museum%E2%80%99s+Dialectics+of+Terror+Catalog+Raises+More+Questions&fr=yfp-t-501&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8
(U.S.) Big Apple loses conservative voice of The Sun — New York Sun closing
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24427793-7582,00.html
-— The Arc of the Sun
http://www.nysun.com/editorials/the-arc-of-the-sun/86865/
__._,_.___
If reposting elsewhere, please credit source of this research as UnitedStatesAction.com
Arms Control and International Security: Recent U.S. Actions to Halt Iran’s Procurement Practices for Attempted Acquisition of WMD-Related Items
Mon, 29 Sep 2008 23:00:00 -0500
Fact Sheet
Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation
Washington, DC
September 30, 2008
Recent U.S. Actions to Halt Iran’s Procurement Practices for Attempted Acquisition of WMD-Related Items
On September 25, 2008, the United States Department of Commerce issued guidance to the U.S. exporting community designed to encourage exporters’ vigilance on Iran’s efforts to procure items for use in Iran’s nuclear and missile programs. This action is part of the United States’ broader strategy to ensure that no U.S.-origin items contribute in any way to Iran’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. We believe that Iran’s use of companies in third countries to procure goods is a deceptive practice that the entire international community should confront with extreme vigilance.
* The Department of Commerce issued this guidance to alert U.S. companies that Iranian entities form front companies in third countries for the sole purpose of procuring dual-use items, including U.S. origin items, which may appear to be for commercial activities elsewhere.
* This guidance warns that these front companies are often in third countries where U.S. companies have strong trading relationships. Iran’s use of companies in third countries to procure U.S. origin goods highlights Iran’s deceptive practices in the international commercial system.
* This guidance reminds exporters to take note of any abnormal circumstances in a transaction that indicate that the export may be destined for an inappropriate end-use, end-user, or destination and summarizes the steps that exporters can take in order to prevent unauthorized transfers to Iran.
* For additional information on the Commerce Department’s actions, please visit www.bis.doc.gov.
These actions are a continuation of the U.S. Government’s coordinated strategy to halt Iran’s involvement in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery. Recent actions that are part of this strategy include:
* In March 2008, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) issued guidance to all U.S. financial institutions on the risk arising from deficiencies in Iran’s anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime, and noted these deficiencies are exacerbated by the Government of Iran’s continued attempts to conduct prohibited proliferation related activity and terrorist financing. For additional information on the Treasury Department’s actions, please visit http://www.fincen.gov/statutes_regs/guidance/pdf/fin-2008-a002.pdf
* On September 17, 2008, the Department of Justice returned a Superseding Indictment charging eight individuals and eight corporations in connection with their participation in conspiracies to export U.S.-manufactured commodities to prohibited entities and to Iran. These actions underscore that even the most stringent export control and sanctions program can be undermined by Iran’s concerted efforts. For more information on the Justice Department’s actions, please visit http://www.bis.doc.gov/news/2008/doj09172008.htm
from: state.gov
California Fire:
You can monitor the Chalk Fire yourself at the following links:
Inciweb: http://inciweb.org/incident/1551/
South Ops News & Notes Update: http://gacc.nifc.gov/oscc/predictive/intelligence/news_notes/index.htm
Los Padres NF WILDCAD: http://www.wildcad.net/?WildWeb=CALPF
Wildlandfire.com Hotlist: http://www.wildlandfire.com/hotlist/showthread.php?t=6902
GOES Satelllite Imagery Loop: http://sat.wrh.noaa.gov/satellite/loopsat.php?wfo=hnx&area=west&type=vis&size=1
Nepenthe Webcam: http://www.nepenthebigsur.com/
KSBY-TV (SLO) Fire Page: http://www.ksby.com/Global/category.asp?C=134797
Monterey County Fire Info: http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/PR_OES/default.asp
(Not updated yet but it will be as this grows)
—
__._,_.___
Be sure to check out our Links Section at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/californiadisasters/links
Please join our Discussion Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/californiadisasters_discussion/ for topical but extended discussions started here or for less topical but nonetheless relevant messages.
Here are some blogs to follow for the latest on the Chalk Fire:
http://bigsurkate.wordpress.com/
http://cachaguastore.blogspot.com/
http://thefirelane.blogspot.com/
—
Be sure to check out our Links Section at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/californiadisasters/links
Please join our Discussion Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/californiadisasters_discussion/ for topical but extended discussions started here or for less topical but nonetheless relevant messages.
http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news/?fr=yalerts-keyword&c=&p=%22Iran%22&ei=utf-8
News Stories for “Iran”
(Results 1 - 10 of about 24,996)
Sort Results by: Relevance | Date
1,141 News PhotosPlay Play 27 News Videos
* 1.
In Iran, 3 Degrees of Separation From Truth Open this result in new window
New York Times - 22 minutes ago
Iran?s interior minister, Ali Kordan, admitted that a doctorate he said he had earned from Oxford was a fake.
* 2.
Lawmakers want probe of U.S. exports to Iran Open this result in new window
USA Today - Sep 30 11:06 AM
Two House Democrats are asking congressional investigators to examine U.S. exports to Iran to see whether approval procedures are being abused in light of a dramatic increase in the dollar value of shipments there over President Bush’s first seven years in office.
* 3.
Iran may limit IAEA access to nuclear sites: MP
Iran may limit IAEA access to nuclear sites: MP Open this result in new window
AFP via Yahoo! News - Sep 30 9:47 AM
Iran’s parliament may limit the UN watchdog’s inspections of the country’s nuclear sites following a new UN resolution against Tehran over its atomic programme, a senior Iranian MP said on Tuesday.
* 4.
Iran minister admits holding fake Oxford degree
Iran minister admits holding fake Oxford degree Open this result in new window
AFP via Yahoo! News - Sep 30 4:04 AM
Iran’s Interior Minister Ali Kordan has admitted to holding a fake Oxford University degree which he thought was valid, coming clean after weeks of controversy, a newspaper reported on Tuesday.
* 5.
Lawmakers Seek Probe of U.S. Exports to Iran Open this result in new window
Fox News - Sep 30 9:39 AM
Two Democrats in the House of Representatives are asking congressional investigators to examine U.S. exports to Iran.
* 6.
Lawmakers Want Probe Of US Exports To Iran Open this result in new window
CBS News - Sep 30 8:19 AM
Two House Democrats are asking congressional investigators to examine U.S. exports to Iran to see whether approval procedures are being abused.
* 7.
Why are the Revolutionary Guards running Iran’s ICBM program? Open this result in new window
UPI - Sep 30 8:05 AM
By ARIEL COHEN WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 (UPI) — It is highly significant that Iran’s missile program is under the control of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard — Pasdaran — the most loyal element of the regime, which combines internal secret police and external intelligence and shock troop functions. It is not controlled by civilians; not even by the regular military.
* 8.
Lawmakers want probe of US exports to Iran Open this result in new window
San Francisco Chronicle - Sep 30 8:45 AM
Two House Democrats are asking congressional investigators to examine U.S. exports to Iran to see whether approval procedures are being abused in light of a dramatic increase in the dollar value of shipments there over President Bush’s first seven years in...
* 9.
Iran May Limit Cooperation With IAEA, Says Senior MP Open this result in new window
Nasdaq - Sep 30 12:45 PM
(RTTNews) - Iran may limit its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and block the UN nuclear watchdog’s inspections of its disputed uranium enrichment program in response to the latest UN resolution against Teheran, senior Iranian MP Mousa Ghorbani told the country’s official news agency IRNA on Tuesday.
* 10.
Richard Silverstein: John McCain taps into fear that Iran will attack Israel Open this result in new window
Guardian Unlimited - Sep 30 12:11 PM
Richard Silverstein: Iran isn’t planning to attack Israel, but that isn’t stopping John McCain from tapping into fears of a second Holocaust
=== Google Web Alert for: Hafs al-Misri Brigades message post to cells ===
NPR12.3: DOES INTENT EQUAL CAPABILITY? Al-Qaeda and Weapons of ...
Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigade (al-Qaeda in Europe), Ansar al-Sunna (Iraq), and
the ... the present and mostly consists of attempts by al-Qaeda cells or
...
http://cns.miis.edu/npr/pdfs/123salama.pdf
This once a day Google Alert is brought to you by Google...
Adding a little humor to a serious situation...
When I read the title of this article I couldn’t help but think to myself — “Good luck with that, wouldn’t you have to FIND Atlantis in order to bomb it?” ;-)
Sorry I haven’t been responding to all my pings lately. I’ve been very busy getting caught up in the market “crisis”, and with the Obama Truth Squads, and the “Obama Youth” thing. I’m going through my back pings now...
http://www.nationalterroralert.com/updates/category/stories-of-interest/
Terror and Torture In Mexico
Tuesday, 30 Sep, 2008 – 21:45 | No Comment
Eight dead bodies were found Tuesday alongside messages from drug gangs in the northern Mexican city of Tijuana, where 16 dead bodies were found a day earlier. Six of the bodies found Tuesday in the …
http://www.nationalterroralert.com/
*
Former FBI Analyst Predicts Terror Attack After Election
Former FBI Analyst Predicts Terror Attack After Election
Wed, 1/10/08 – 0:01 | No Comment
*
U.S. Army Brigade Deploys For Homeland Mission
U.S. Army Brigade Deploys For Homeland Mission
Tue, 30/09/08 – 23:08 | No Comment
*
Man Who Plotted Cherry Vale Mall Terror Attack Gets 35 Years
Man Who Plotted Cherry Vale Mall Terror Attack Gets 35 Years
Tue, 30/09/08 – 22:44 | No Comment
*
School Bus Reported Stolen - Delaware
School Bus Reported Stolen - Delaware
Tue, 30/09/08 – 19:57 | No Comment
*
Report - Al-Qaeda May Be Plotting Attack At Star-Studded Event At Dubai’s Atlantis Hotel
Sample of listings.
=== Google News Alert for: Suspicious Package found ===
Two suspicious packages found near US courthouse in downtown Jackson
Jackson Sun - Jackson,TN,USA
A part of Highland Avenue in downtown Jackson has been blocked off after
two suspicious packages were found near the United States courthouse next
to the ...
http://www.jacksonsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080930/NEWS01/80930008/1002/NEWS01
See all stories on this topic:
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ncl=http://www.jacksonsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article%3FAID%3D/20080930/NEWS01/80930008/1002/NEWS01
Bomb inmate sends suspicious package to school
Courier Mail - Australia
Sstaff working at the school during the holidays was evacuated immediately
while the suspicious package was checked. The package was found to contain
a ...
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24428309-3102,00.html
See all stories on this topic:
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ncl=http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24428309-3102,00.html
Breaking News: Suspicious Package At Sunset Way & Sunset Road In ...
KTNV Las Vegas - Las Vegas,NV,USA
Henderson Police and a bomb squad are at the scene of a suspicious package
at the intersection of Sunset Road and Sunset Way. That is near where
Mountain ...
http://www.ktnv.com/Global/story.asp?S=9102699
See all stories on this topic:
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ncl=http://www.ktnv.com/Global/story.asp%3FS%3D9102699
Six arrested in elaborate check writing scheme in Rochester
Minneapolis Star Tribune - Minneapolis,MN,USA
“But the homeowner intercepted the package and thought it was suspicious
when the men came to retrieve it. She got a successful description of the
...
http://www.startribune.com/local/29945794.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aU7EaDiaMDCiUT
See all stories on this topic:
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ncl=http://www.startribune.com/local/29945794.html%3Felr%3DKArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aU7EaDiaMDCiUT
No bombs found
Jackson Sun - Jackson,TN,USA
Local law enforcement authorities continued to search Tuesday for the
person in a video who left two suspicious Federal Express packages outside
the US ...
http://www.jacksonsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081001/NEWS01/810010313/1002
See all stories on this topic:
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ncl=http://www.jacksonsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article%3FAID%3D/20081001/NEWS01/810010313/1002
=== Google Blogs Alert for: Suspicious Package found ===
Suspicious package destroyed, investigation continues
OSHAWA — Police have issued an appeal for information after a suspicious
package found in a church parking lot in north Oshawa Monday afternoon was
destroyed by the bomb squad. Contents of the ...
http://www.newsdurhamregion.com/article/109417
newsdurhamregion.com | Crime Feed
http://www.newsdurhamregion.com
Hazardous Material Team Response in North Long Beach
By frhayes
On Monday, September 29th at 4:55 PM the Long Beach Fire Department (LBFD)
received a call of a suspicious package that contained a white
“powdery” substance, mailed from an International address, and then
delivered to a residence in ...
http://firechannel.org/blog/?p=248
On ACORN Pork and the Rescue Package For Mainstreet..Read On
By guest1
Two suspicious Seminole County voter registration cards became a flash
point Wednesday in the Republican effort to suggest the community group
ACORN is committing fraud in its historic Florida get-out-the vote efforts.
...
http://lemacks.com/wordpress/?p=1620
The Daily Charter
http://lemacks.com/wordpress
This once a day Google Alert is brought to you by Google...
http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news/?fr=yalerts-keyword&c=&p=school+bus+accident&ei=utf-8
News Stories for school bus accident
(Results 1 - 10 of about 2,013)
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Play Play 3 News Videos
* 1.
Wayzata students sustain minor injuries in school bus accident Open this result in new window
Minnetonka Sun-Sailor - Sep 30 11:51 PM
A traffic accident left nine students with minor injuries when one school bus rear-ended another in Plymouth Thursday, Sept. 18. The accident happened around 2:40 p.m. near the intersection of County Road 101 North and 26th Avenue, according to a Plymouth Police report.
* 2.
Minor injuries in school bus accident Open this result in new window
Republican-American - 2 hours, 15 minutes ago
No one was seriously injured Monday after a school bus accident in Wolcott.
* 3.
School bus hit on heels of deadly crash week ago Open this result in new window
The Gainesville Sun - 16 minutes ago
- Nearly a week after a semitrailer plowed into the back of a school bus on U.S. 301 in Citra, killing one student and hospitalizing several other students and the drivers of both vehicles, Monday morning saw another accident involving a stopped school bus.
* 4.
Cement Truck Driver Arrested For School Bus Accident Open this result in new window
WCTV Tallahassee - Sep 30 3:27 PM
The driver of the cement truck that stuck a school bus and killed a young girl has been arrested.
* 5.
Driver, students injured in bus accident Open this result in new window
The Advocate - Sep 30 5:20 PM
An Ascension Parish school bus driver is being called a hero after a nasty accident this morning. Sixteen Dutchtown High students and their bus driver were taken to the hospital after a crash with two other trucks.
* 6.
Amherst toddler killed when struck by school bus Open this result in new window
Boston Herald - Sep 30 10:21 AM
AMHERST - A toddler has been struck and killed by a school bus while waiting at a stop with an older sibling and parent in Amherst. The accident happened about 8 a.m. this...
* 7.
Toddler struck and killed by school bus in Amherst Open this result in new window
Boston Globe - Sep 30 11:50 PM
A 2-year-old boy waiting at a bus stop with his mother and older sister was struck and killed by a school bus in Amherst yesterday morning, local police and school officials said.
* 8.
7 injured in Watauga County school bus accident Open this result in new window
WCNC Charlotte - Sep 29 8:08 AM
DEEP GAP, N.C. — Six Watauga County students and a bus driver are recovering after an accident Monday morning on Hardin Road in Watauga County. Police say the bus was the only vehicle involved.
* 9.
Pasco school bus driver charged in minor accident Open this result in new window
St. Petersburg Times - Sep 29 7:27 AM
A school bus driver transporting 36 children and teenagers in Port Richey was cited after he backed into a stand of trees and blew out two rear windows, the Florida Highway Patrol said. No one was hurt. Salvatore J. Falco,...
News Stories for school bus stolen
(Results 1 - 10 of about 280)
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* 1.
Search for stolen school bus Open this result in new window
WPVI-TV Philadelphia - Sep 30 1:35 PM
The Delaware State Police are looking for a school bus that was reported stolen on Monday from Le Hanes bus service on New Castle Avenue in New Castle.
* 2.
Gas stolen from Jamaica school bus Open this result in new window
Brattleboro Reformer - 1 hour, 45 minutes ago
JAMAICA — The Windham County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the theft of approximately 28 gallons of unleaded gas from a Jamaica school bus parked at the town garage late last week.
* 3.
Fire & Police Briefs: 3 students injured in school-bus wreck Open this result in new window
Winston-Salem Journal - Sep 30 12:24 PM
Three students were injured yesterday morning when their school bus overturned on Hardin Road, about 7½ miles east of Boone, authorities said.
* 4.
On The Record 10/1 Open this result in new window
The Times-Reporter - Sep 30 8:25 PM
POLICE BLOTTER Tuscarawas County • The bus coordinator for Tuscarawas Valley Schools reported Tuesday that a utility trailer was stolen from the high school over the weekend .
* 5.
A case of stolen identity in letter writing campaign Open this result in new window
Republican-American - 2 hours, 46 minutes ago
The Region 14 Board of Education morphed into an epistolary shooting range in the last two weeks, following a letter allegedly written by a bus driver, that driver’s handwritten follow-up and a point-by-point written refutation by district businessman administrator Jay Hubelbank.
* 6.
Porter County CrimeTimes Open this result in new window
The Times of Northwest Indiana - Oct 01 1:00 AM
VALPARAISO Official: Sex incident did not involve school An official at the Victory Christian Academy, 360 N. County Road 325 East, said a sexual incident that occurred at the building in August did not involve anyone affiliated with the school.
* 7.
The Natchez Democrat Open this result in new window
The Natchez Democrat - Sep 30 10:31 PM
NATCHEZ — When maintenance crews at Cathedral School went to cut the grass Monday, something was missing — a $10,000 lawnmower. The lawnmower, a 4-year-old, zero turn radius Kubota was missing, as was the lock on the storage building.
* 8.
Thefts top $7,100 Open this result in new window
The Moultrie Observer - Sep 30 8:28 PM
MOULTRIE — Seven Colquitt County residents reported they were recent victims of property theft. Items reported stolen included jewelry, guns, an air conditioner, lawn equipment and gasoline.
* 9.
UPDATE: Expelled ACHS student apologized for bringing gun on campus Open this result in new window
WVLT-TV Knoxville - Sep 30 1:51 PM
One of the four Anderson County students expelled on Tuesday apologizes for driving onto school grounds with a gun.
News Stories for school bus fire
(Results 1 - 10 of about 2,384)
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* 1.
Students evacuated during school bus fire Open this result in new window
Las Vegas Sun - Sep 30 5:53 PM
Fire in an engine compartment of a Clark County School District bus late this afternoon forced the evacuation of 60 students.
* 2.
No injuries during fire on Beaumont school bus Open this result in new window
Beaumont Enterprise - Sep 30 6:33 AM
The front of a school bus caught fire Tuesday morning near West Calder at Washington in Beaumont.
* 3.
Fire & Police Briefs: 3 students injured in school-bus wreck Open this result in new window
Winston-Salem Journal - Sep 30 12:24 PM
Three students were injured yesterday morning when their school bus overturned on Hardin Road, about 7½ miles east of Boone, authorities said.
* 4.
School bus hit on heels of deadly crash week ago Open this result in new window
The Gainesville Sun - 21 minutes ago
- Nearly a week after a semitrailer plowed into the back of a school bus on U.S. 301 in Citra, killing one student and hospitalizing several other students and the drivers of both vehicles, Monday morning saw another accident involving a stopped school bus.
* 5.
School bus driver arrested for DUI; police say children inside as driver found slumped over wheel Open this result in new window
Knoxville News Sentinel - Sep 30 9:13 PM
A Loudon County school bus driver was arrested and charged with DUI and child endangerment Tuesday after authorities reported that she was discovered slumped over the wheel of a bus loaded with children on the way to school.
* 6.
Loudon school bus driver charged with DUI after morning run Open this result in new window
Knoxville News Sentinel - Sep 30 2:20 PM
A Loudon County school bus driver faces child-endangerment and DUI charges after authorities say she was found slumped over the wheel during this morning’s run.
* 7.
Cops: Driver just misses school bus, crashes into classic car Open this result in new window
Daily Record - Sep 30 11:37 AM
ANDOVER TWP. — A Sparta man was arrested and charged Tuesday in connection with a wild morning ride during which he clipped a street sign, swerved around a stopped school bus — while children were boarding — and ultimately crashed into an antique car that was parked safely inside a Limecrest Road garage.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Window on Eurasia: No Terrorist Act in Post-Soviet Russia Has Ever Been
Fully Investigated, Expert Says
Paul Goble
Eagles Mere, PA, September 30 — Moscow has never investigated a single
terrorist incident “to the end,” according to a leading Russian legal
specialist, and its failure to do so not only has opened the way for
more terrorist actions but raised questions in the minds of many about
the complicity of Russian officials in particular cases.
Mikhail Trepashkin, who coordinates legal aid for the All-Russian public
organization The Commission for the Struggle with Corruption, argues
that this involves not only major terrorist acts like those at Buinaksk,
Moscow and Volgodonsk which claimed hundreds of lives but many smaller
ones as well (newsland.ru/News/Detail/id/301290/cat/42/).
In some cases, the powers that be have arrested the executors of these
crimes but not the organizers. And the former, having been incarcerated
which is where Trepashkin has worked with them, “complain that they were
deceived [by the latter] and promised short sentences in exchange for
confessions but in fact given longer ones.”
But the problem is larger than these individual human tragedies, he
says. It touches on the entire society because “the special services
apply the paragraph of secrecy to conceal their own violations of the
law” and thus the relatives of the victims are not able to find out who
was responsible for their deaths.
And that in turn leads both the authorities and the terrorists to
believe that they can get away with more such crimes and the Russian
people to distrust the one and fear the other in ways that a more open
and complete approach to the investigation of such incidents would
preclude, Trepashkin says.
When Putin declared that “it is possible to kill [Chechens] even in the
toilet,” the Moscow lawyer says, he was in effect giving permission to
the authorities to murder large numbers of people “without trial or
investigation” and thereby allowing those responsible to evade
responsibility.
“If we had known the origin of [such terrorist acts],” Trepashkin
continues, we would have understood how to struggle against it.” And
Russians would have gained even more, he insists, because they would
have been able to avoid the situation that now infects much of Russian life:
Such actions by the authorities both in 1999 and more recently in cases
like the Yamadayev killing mean that “any person who is thinking
logically begins to conclude that those who ordered the killing of those
who carried out the crime do not want them to tell who ordered them to
commit it.”
That is all the more so, Trepashkin continues, because those who have
tried to investigate these crimes on their own, as he did face threats
and even fabricated criminal charges that he planned to assassinate
Putin. In 2002, he says, he was told to stop investigating the apartment
bombings, and when he refused, he was charged and brought before a
closed military court.
“The prosecutor at that time directly told” him, the lawyer says, that
“yes, he had been arrested illegally, that there was no evidence of a
crime, but that all the same the chief military prosecutor had agreed
with the judges of the military collegiums of the Supreme Court of the
Russian Federation to convict him.”
Moreover, the prosecutor added, Trepashkin would “not be able to appeal
his sentence in Russia because the military collegium would not allow
him to do so.” That order, Trepashkin was told, came from “the highest”
– a euphemism not for the director of the FSB but for his boss,
then-President Vladimir Putin.
Trepashkin is not the only Russian commentator writing about this
problem. In an article posted online this week, Yuri Girenko argues that
Russia’s basic problem in this regard is that it has sometimes sought
law and sometimes order but it has not sought order in law because that
takes time to develop (newsland.ru/News/Detail/id/300837/cat/42/).
“The brutal murder of [Yamadayev] in the center of Moscow made it clear
that in Russia there is no more important task than to guarantee law and
order.” But it is “especially difficult to do this,” the Moscow writer
continues, in a way that “law and order” do not become mutually
exclusive categories.
At various points in its history, Russia has had order “based not on law
but on force.” And at other times, the country has witnessed “attempts
to make Law the foundation of statehood.” But those efforts have ended
every time either with a new tyranny or anarchy” largely because their
authors have moved too quickly to be able to ensure order.
And then, as events like the murder of Yamadayev happen, order is once
again valued “higher than law” because “the weakness of the Law
undermines Order,” a vicious circle that Girenko argues cannot be cut by
decree but rather by slow, slogging work, something neither Russian
rulers nor many ordinary Russians yet seem to want to do.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/chechnya-sl/
Russian army to begin autumn draft on October 1
MOSCOW, September 30 (Itar-Tass) - The Russian army is beginning the
autumn draft on October 1, under which 219,000 citizens of 18 to 27
years age would be eligible for military service, in accordance with a
federal law.
This autumn, 205,000 servicemen conscripted in the autumn of 2006 and
the spring of 2007 will be discharged from the armed forces.
Smirnov said the number of youngsters conscripted to the armed forces in
the spring of 2009 would increase considerably, but the physical health
of the call-up contingent leaves much to be desired: this last spring,
every third draftee was certified unfit for service due to health
problems, while more than 50 percent of draftees were found not to be
100 percent fit.
Alternative civil service is not popular in Russia. At present, there
are 914 people in alternative service, 900 are completing it, and 319
have fled it, according to the General.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/chechnya-sl/
http://www.rferl.org/content/Ossetian_Militias_Burn_Georgian_Villages/1292746.html
September 30, 2008
Rights Groups Say South Ossetian Militias Burning Georgian Villages
by Brian Whitmore
In ethnic-Georgian villages across South Ossetia, the stories are disturbingly similar. Paramilitary irregulars roll into town, pack their cars and trucks with anything and everything of value, burn all the houses to the ground, and move on.
Nadia Terashvili, a resident of the Georgian enclave of Beloti, had heard what happened to nearby villages, and knew what to expect when South Ossetian militias showed up. After a harrowing escape from the smoldering ruins of what was once her hometown, Terashvili ended up with other internally displaced persons in the city of Gori.
“Eredvi is burned down. Vanati is burned down. Satskheneti is burned down. And then they came to our village and burned it down as well. They destroyed everything and after taking whatever they could take, they burned each and every house down,” Terashvili tells RFE/RL’s Georgian Service. “We fled with just the clothes on our backs, lost our way, and spent three nights in the forest.”
Human rights advocates who have been monitoring the situation in the pro-Moscow separatist region since the conflict ended say stories like Terashvili’s, combined with satellite images, show that the destruction of Georgian villages in South Ossetia is methodical and organized.
“For a month we have observed the systematic destruction of houses in Georgian enclaves and villages in South Ossetia,” says Tatyana Lokshina, a Russia researcher with Human Rights Watch (HRW).
HRW has also released satellite images that show “widespread torching of ethnic Georgian villages” in the breakaway region.
According to an release on HRW’s website, the images, which were provided and analyzed by the UN program UNOSAT, show that “the damage depicted in five ethnic-Georgian villages shows the destruction of these villages around the South Ossetian capital, Tskhinvali, was caused by intentional burning and not armed combat.”
Classic Case Of Ethnic Cleansing?
Prior to the outbreak of armed conflict on August 7-8, ethnic Georgians made up just less than one-third of the population of South Ossetia. The region was a patchwork of Georgian and Ossetian villages that existed side-by-side in an uneasy peace.
Aleksandre Lomaia, the secretary of Georgia’s National Security Council, tells RFE/RL’s Georgian Service that South Ossetian separatist authorities and their patrons in Moscow are now trying to permanently alter the ethnic makeup of the region.
“We are dealing with classic case of ethnic cleansing. Not only is a specific ethnic group, in this case Georgians, being driven out from a specific territory, but their homes are being destroyed afterward in order to make it difficult, or even impossible, for them to return,” Lomaia says.
The South Ossetian authorities are not denying that ethnic Georgians homes are being burned down. News agencies have quoted de facto South Ossetian President Eduard Kokoity as saying that Georgians would not be able to return to the region because their homes had been destroyed. He added that Ossetians were not allowed to return to Georgia proper following the separatist war in the early 1990s.
Supported by Russia, South Ossetia fought a brutal war to secede from Georgia in the early 1990s after the breakup of the Soviet Union. A 1992 cease-fire ended the fighting and established a peacekeeping contingent comprised of Russian, Georgian, and Ossetian forces. The agreement did not resolve the question of South Ossetia’s final status, and it remained formally part of Georgia but enjoyed de facto autonomy.
On August 26, Russia formally recognized the independence of South Ossetia and another pro-Moscow breakaway Georgian region, Abkhazia. The only other country in the world to have followed Russia’s lead, however, is Nicaragua.
Detainee Abuse
In addition to the burning of Georgian villages, HRW has documented cases of arbitrary detention, forced labor, torture, and extrajudicial executions of Georgian civilians and military at the hands of South Ossetian forces during the conflict.
“We have learned that hundreds of civilians from Georgia were detained in holding cells in South Ossetia. These included women and the elderly,” HRW’s Lokshina says. “We know that these people were held in inhuman conditions, crammed together in one space. They were practically not fed. They were forced to work. They cleaned streets. The men were forced to bury the corpses of Georgian soldiers.”
According to a September 21 report posted on HRW’s website, detained Georgian soldiers were punched, kicked, beaten with hammers, machine-gun butts, and metal rods, and were burned with cigarette lighters, starved, and threatened with execution. At least one soldier was executed with a shot in the back of the head and other detainees were forced to carry and bury his body.
“After fleeing our village, we spent a week hiding in the forest,” Jemal Khetagashvili, a former civilian detainee, tells RFE/RL’s Georgian Service. “But then the Ossetians found us and arrested us. We spent 10-12 days imprisoned in Tskhinvali. They forced us to work, to clean the streets and sidewalks.”
At least one Georgian civilian was also executed after being pulled from a car while trying to flee the Russian-occupied Gori district.
Human rights activists also say the situation is increasingly dire for Georgians in the “buffer zones” that Russian forces have set up in Georgia proper around Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Lokshina says they have become lawless areas where militias regularly terrorize local residents.
“We are extremely worried about the situation in the so-called buffer zones, where the Georgian police do not have access and cannot bring order and where South Ossetian militias regularly harass local residents and burn down their houses,” Lokshina says. “The Russian armed forces are not trying in any way to provide security for the civilian population and their property in the buffer zones. It is an absolute vacuum as far as security and law and order goes.”
In its September 21 report, HRW also called on Tbilisi to investigate allegations of ill-treatment of South Ossetians detained by Georgian forces.
Goga Aptsiauri of RFE/RL’s Georgian Service contributed to this report from Gori
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty © 2008 RFE/RL, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.rferl.org/content/ElBaradei_Says_IAEA_Lacks_Tools_To_Find_Hidden_Atom_Work/1292875.html
September 30, 2008
El-Baradei Says IAEA Lacks Tools To Find Hidden Atom Work
VIENNA (Reuters) — The International Atomic Energy Agency chief has said the agency’s failure to detect nuclear arms work in Saddam Hussein’s Iraq in the 1980s showed that his inspectors lacked authority to pre-empt proliferators.
His remark was telling because an IAEA probe of Iran has stalled over Tehran’s failure to explain allegations of secret nuclear arms research and its refusal to grant inspectors access to military-affiliated sites and officials they deem relevant.
IAEA Director Muhammad El-Baradei said the crux of the problem was that some countries under investigation, the latest being Syria, had failed to ratify an agency protocol permitting short notice IAEA visits to sites not declared to be nuclear so as to ensure no bomb-related work is going on at secret locations.
“Our legal authority is very limited. With Iraq, we have discovered that unless we have the Additional Protocol in place, we will not really be able to discover undeclared activities,” he said on the sidelines of the UN watchdog’s annual 145-nation General Conference in Vienna.
“Our experience is that any proliferator will not really go for declared diverted activities [that would quickly reveal them as violators of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, or NPT], they will go for completely clandestine undeclared activities,” he said.
In the 1970s and ‘80s, Iraq under then-dictator Saddam Hussein developed a nuclear weapons program hidden from the IAEA because of severe restrictions on inspector access. It came to light only after Iraq’s defeat in the 1991 Gulf War and the IAEA spent the next seven years dismantling it.
Extra Access
Diplomats say that the key to resolving current IAEA investigations of Iran and Syria is extra access to sites not declared to be nuclear. But they say both have ruled this out, saying such sites involve their conventional military and so lie outside the IAEA’s writ.
Iran and Syria deny having any covert weapons programs or illicitly hiding any nuclear activity from the IAEA. El-Baradei has called on Syria as well for greater transparency and access. Damascus also has not ratified the Additional Protocol.
Opening the IAEA gathering on September 29, ElBaradei said the agency, guardian of the NPT, lacked funding, state-of-the-art equipment, and legal authority to extract full cooperation from countries under nuclear investigation.
He said the failure of some 100 countries, including the United States, to ratify the decade-old protocol was “an abysmal record” that handicapped the IAEA’s verification mandate.
The IAEA has also since May been investigating Syria, based on U.S. intelligence alleging that it had almost completed a secret nuclear reactor that might have made bomb-grade plutonium before the site was destroyed in an Israeli air strike.
The United States and Western allies have put Iran and Syria under fire in the IAEA debate, accusing both of stonewalling UN investigators and demanding unfettered cooperation.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty © 2008 RFE/RL, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
October 01, 2008
EU Monitors Begin Georgia Patrols, But Russian Restrictions Add Confusion
(RFE/RL) — The first of some 300 European Union observers have started a monitoring mission in Georgia. They are part of a cease-fire deal brokered by the EU after the August conflict between Russia and Georgia over the breakaway region of South Ossetia.
Under the deal, Russia agreed to withdraw all forces from territories outside South Ossetia and another breakaway region in Georgia, Abkhazia, within 10 days after the EU monitors deploy. But the Russians now seem to be complicating the sequence of events.
The EU monitoring observers began their mission when a column of armored vehicles marked with EU flags rumbled out of a field camp at the village of Bazaleti, on an initial patrol near South Ossetia.
A second column of vehicles set out from the city of Gori, also near South Ossetia, and other teams were reported patrolling near the western cities of Poti and Zugdidi, close to Abkhazia.
Withdraw From Buffer Zones
The EU monitors, who mostly have military or police backgrounds, are meant to patrol the areas of Georgia proper that were occupied by Russian forces during the brief Russian-Georgian war in August.
Under an agreement between Moscow and the EU, Russian troops are to withdraw from these so-called buffer zones by October 10, and the monitors will ensure stability in the vacated territory.
The EU monitors have no permission to cross borders from Georgia proper into the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which have been recognized by Russia as independent states, and where Moscow says at least 7,000 Russian troops will remain.
But complications became evident even before the first EU patrol started.
Russian military spokesman Vitaly Manushko told journalists in Karaleti on September 30 that the EU personnel would not be allowed to enter the buffer zone leading to South Ossetia.
“The monitoring mission will only have access up to the southern border of the security zone because there is no agreement yet between the EU mission and the [Russian] peacekeepers on how it will function,” Manushko said. “There is no agreement between Russia and Georgia and, unfortunately, we have not yet determined the number of Georgian police who will enter villages in the security zone, but consultations on this are still ongoing.”
Entered Buffer Zone
Manushko set no date for the buffer zones to be opened up to the EU monitors, while the EU is working on the assumption that the accord foresees that the Russians will be gone and all the monitors installed by October 10.
But despite Manushko’s assertion to the contrary, news agencies reported on October 1 that one of the EU patrols was in fact allowed to enter the buffer zone around South Ossetia.
Reuters and AFP reporters traveling with the patrol say that the EU patrol was stopped at a Russian military checkpoint marking the edge of the buffer zone, and then was waved through after about 10 minutes of discussion.
German diplomat Hansjoerg Haber, head of the EU observer mission in Georgia, told journalists in Bazaleti that it’s too early to say whether the Russians are being obstructionist.
“[The Russians] have given us all sorts of reasons [for not allowing EU observers into the buffer zone], not only safety but also technical and administrative reasons,” Haber said. “We will want to clarify the situation, and at the moment I would not like to pronounce an opinion on whether they really want to stall it. We have received assurances at the political level that we will be able to make patrols in the entire adjacent areas at the latest, October 10.”
Georgian Deputy Prime Minister Giorgi Baramidze has no doubts that Russia is going to make things difficult.
“This will take time, of course, and Russians will play with our nerves,” Baramidze told RFE/RL’s Georgian Service. “They will probably try to stage provocations and accuse us of various wrongdoings. But this [Russian withdrawal] remains our goal, and we are in full agreement with the European Union regarding our tasks and goals. We are determined to fight to the end politically, diplomatically, and legally to ensure that the agreement is fulfilled.”
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty © 2008 RFE/RL, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/10/01/dc.grenade.ap/index.html?eref=ib_topstories
Grenade found in D.C. park
* Story Highlights
* NEW: Grenade determined not to be live device
* Maintenance worker found explosive in Rock Creek Park
* Some nearby homes evacuated
* 16th Street closed
snipped....
No injuries were reported. The grenade was found across the street from an office of the Egyptian Embassy, FBI spokeswoman Debbie Weierman said. There was no known terrorist connection, she said.
October 1, 2008 Anti-Terrorism News - UnitedStatesAction.com
(U.S.) Holy Land Foundation retrial: Hamas Deputy Chief Settled U.S. Funding Dispute — Mousa Abu Marzook
http://www.investigativeproject.org/article/782
(U.S.) Holy Land Foundation retrial: Evidence in the Holy Land Foundation re-trial now online
http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/10/evidence-in-the-holy-land-foun.html
—— USA v. Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development - Exhibit List
http://www.txnd.uscourts.gov/judges/hlf2.html
(U.S.) Holy Land Foundation retrial: Holy Land Foundation jurors could see ads featuring Osama’s mentor
-— videos showing Sheikh Abdullah Azzam
http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/09/holy-land-foundation-jurors-co.html
Iraq: Car bomb kills at least three, injures 30 others — Salah al-Din province
http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=3.0.2527064064
Iraq: Al-Qaeda ‘used 24 child suicide bombers in last two years
http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=3.0.2527067244
Iraqi govt takes over “Awakening” forces file from US military
http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=1941298&Language=en
-— Iraqi anti-Qaeda fighters wary of their new masters
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081001/wl_nm/us_iraq_guards_1;_ylt=Ahk.Pxg81rWvp90IG3vxgW5X6GMA
-— Gun-toting fighters battling Qaeda embrace Iraqi govt
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/darticlen.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2008/October/middleeast_October8.xml§ion=middleeast&col=
Iraq: Biggest threat to stability is Iran, says Pentagon
http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Security/?id=3.0.2527928934
-— Czechs to withdraw most of its troops from Iraq
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/10/01/europe/EU-Czech-Iraq-Afghanistan.php
-— Polish troops end operational mission in Iraq
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-10/01/content_10140249.htm
(Afghanistan) British envoy says mission in Afghanistan is doomed, according to leaked memo
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article4860080.ece
(Afghanistan) General wants help in Afghanistan now — Gen. David McKiernan continues to call to
political and economic aid
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081001/ap_on_go_co/us_afghanistan_3;_ylt=AihNgFJLkj_sJpoUS.iomejOVooA
— August 11, 2008: NATO General McKiernan previously stated regarding Afghanistan: “answer must be found politically”
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,571345,00.html
(Afghanistan) Taliban revival sets fear swirling through Kabul
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article4837667.ece
(Pakistan) Geo TV: Pakistan PM Gilani “terms US attacks inside Paksitan terrorism”
http://www.geo.tv/10-1-2008/26037.htm
Pakistan Taliban claims Baitullah Mehsud is alive
http://www.newkerala.com/fs/f/a-5682.htm
-— Taliban refutes news of Baitullah Mehsud’s death
http://www.nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/NewsStory.aspx?cpath=20081001\ACQRTT200810010859RTTRADERUSEQUITY_0673.htm&&mypage=newsheadlines&title=Taliban%20refutes%20news%20of%20Baitullah%20Mehsud%27s%20death
-— No independent confirmation of Taliban chief’s death: Pentagon
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081001/pl_afp/pakistanafghanistanusunresttalibanhealth_081001151912
http://www.nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/NewsStory.aspx?cpath=20081001\ACQDJON200810011114DOWJONESDJONLINE000551.htm&selected=9999&selecteddisplaysymbol=9999&StoryTargetFrame=_top&mkt=WORLD&chk=unchecked&lang=&link=&headlinereturnpage=http://www.international.na
—— General McKiernan able to confirm that Mehsud is “a very bad man”
(Pakistan) Spanish report links Pakistan to Taliban
-— “charges that Pakistan’s spy service was helping arm Taliban insurgents in 2005 for assassination
plots against the Afghan government”
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081001/ap_on_re_as/eu_spain_pakistan_taliban_1;_ylt=AkgfyeoIuYDA8wc58m9_xwbzPukA
-— Spanish intelligence document says Pakistan ‘helped arm Taliban’
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/3116894/Spanish-intelligence-document-says-Pakistan-helped-arm-Taliban.html
(Pakistan) FATA: 3 killed in missile strike in Pakistan — additional report on North Waziristan strike
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/10/01/asia/AS-Pakistan-Missile-Attack.php
Pakistan PM Zardari says he escaped assassination at Marriott hotel
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081001/wl_afp/pakistanattacksus_081001071151;_ylt=AsPFT7bZtz.gJxY6tY3P14nzPukA
(Pakistan) Four brothers held in Marriott case — Imran Afzal, Hameed Afzal, Majeed Afzal and Kamran Afzal
http://www.dawn.com/2008/10/01/top7.htm
(Pakistan) US to boost Pakistan’s anti-terror capability
http://www.dawn.com/2008/10/01/top1.htm
— “talks between US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte and Pakistan’s Foreign Minister
Shah Mehmood Qureshi”
(Pakistan) NWFP: Lakki Marwat police defused 7 kilo bomb, timer
http://www.geo.tv/10-1-2008/26068.htm
Bangladesh Islamist Group Leaders Released on Bail — Hizb ut-Tahrir Leaders Released on Bai
http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1573854/bangladesh_islamist_group_leaders_released_on_bail/index.html?source=r_technology
(India) Serial blasts rock Tripura; at least 35 injured — five bomb blasts
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Serial_blasts_rock_Tripura_at_least_35_injured/articleshow/3550593.cms
-— Tripura in northeast India, near Assam — typically linked to separatist, not Jihadist violence
(India) Mumbai court evacuated after bomb threat
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Bomb_threat_in_Mumbai_court_/articleshow/3548660.cms
(UK) Tory party conference: Pauline Neville-Jones promises to redraw terror laws
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/conservative/3116161/Tory-party-conference-Pauline-Neville-Jones-promises-to-redraw-terror-laws.html
Iran drops IAEA seat nomination for Syria
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081001/wl_mideast_afp/irannuclearpoliticsiaea_081001092110;_ylt=AgSH9Yjz.foKyOUPVGyRPghSw60A
(Iran) Khamenei: Iran will stand by Hamas, ‘holy warrior’ Haniyeh
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1222017429665&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
(Syria) Hizbullah orders members out of Syria
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1222017428994&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
(West Bank) Abbas reportedly resisting pressures to expel Hamas from West Bank
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1222017428197&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
(Israel) Ehud Olmert: Israel ‘must give up land to secure peace’ — calls for division of Jerusalem
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/3103867/Ehud-Olmert-Israel-must-give-up-land-to-secure-peace.html
Israel’s Ehud Olmert warns of ‘evil wind of extremism’ in Israel
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/3099195/Israels-Ehud-Olmert-warns-of-evil-wind-of-extremism-in-Israel.html
(Algeria) Al Qaeda says it was behind Algeria bombing-website — of Sunday bombing
— Al Qaeda organization in the Islamic Maghreb
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?col=§ion=middleeast&xfile=data/middleeast/2008/October/middleeast_October9.xml
Somalia: World can use force against the pirates
http://www.washtimes.com/news/2008/oct/01/somalia-world-can-use-force-against-the-pirates-1/
(Somalia) Talks underway to free hijacked ship off Somalia
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081001/wl_nm/us_somalia_piracy_9
-— Somali pirates sticking to $20-million ransom demand for hijacked arms ship
http://www.canadaeast.com/rss/article/375234
-— Somali pirates talking to ship owners
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/10/01/africa/AF-Somalia-Piracy.php
-— Report: Commandoes aboard Russian ship
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/10/01/europe/EU-Russia-Somalia-Piracy.php
(Ethiopia) Group says Ethiopia won’t release terror suspects
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/10/01/africa/AF-Africa-Terrorism.php
(Kyrgyzstan) Islamic group supporters dispersed in Kyrgyzstan
— “around 3,000 followers of Hizb-ut-Tahrir surrounded the town hall Wednesday in the southern town of Nukat”
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/10/01/asia/AS-Kyrgyzstan-Protest.php
France tries ‘Islamist militant network’
-— “accused of operating an extremist network that planned attacks in Europe and sent volunteers
from France to fight in Iraq”
-— Moroccans Hamid Bach, Yousef Bousag, Reda Barazzouk and French citizen Amine Liassine
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081001/wl_mideast_afp/franceattacksiraq
(Thailand) Violence in the south continues as PM Somchai announce his visit — in Narathiwat
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2008/10/01/national/national_30084850.php
-— PM denies govt talking with southern insurgents
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=131036
(Thailand) Three killed in southern Thailand; PM to look into unrest — in Yala and Narathiwat
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Top_Headlines/Three_killed_in_southern_Thailand_PM_to_look_into_unrest/articleshow/3548199.cms
(Philippines) 30 soldiers killed in two months of clashes in southern Philippines
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/234903,30-soldiers-killed-in-two-months-of-clashes-in-southern-philippines.html
(Philippines) Troops, Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) clash in North Cotabato
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view/20081001-164014/Troops-MILF-clash-in-North-Cotabato
— Fighting With Philippine Muslim Rebels Flares As Ramadan Ends
http://www.nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/NewsStory.aspx?cpath=20081001\ACQDJON200810010346DOWJONESDJONLINE000272.htm&&mypage=newsheadlines&title=Fighting%20With%20Philippine%20Muslim%20Rebels%20Flares%20As%20Ramadan%20Ends
— Fighting with MILF rebs flares up as Ramadan ends
http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/20081002hed4.html
(Indonesia) Bali bombers vow revenge for execution
-— “Bali bombers today vowed there would be retribution if their executions went ahead”
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24430510-601,00.html
(Sri Lanka) Explosives found on Sri Lanka aid truck, war kills 30
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/international/2008/October/international_October71.xml§ion=international
(North Korea) US envoy takes new nuclear proposal to North Korea
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081001/ap_on_re_as/as_koreas_nuclear_10;_ylt=Ar3BaBn7Y_DUL.h7vMU_VcKCscEA
-— Activity spotted at NKorea nuclear test site: report
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=data/international/2008/October/international_October30.xml§ion=international
(Colombia) Treasury freezes U.S. assets of FARC members
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/09/30/treasury.farc/index.html
http://www.postchronicle.com/news/breakingnews/article_212175685.shtml
http://www.nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/NewsStory.aspx?cpath=20081001\ACQRTT200810011021RTTRADERUSEQUITY_0872.htm&selected=9999&selecteddisplaysymbol=9999&StoryTargetFrame=_top&mkt=WORLD&chk=unchecked&lang=&link=&headlinereturnpage=http://www.international.nasd
Other News:
(UK) London News: Islington firebomb victim Martin Rynja suspends plans to publish controversial book
about prophet Mohammed — “The Jewel of Medina”
http://www.thelondonpaper.com/cs/Satellite/london/news/article/1157155497990?packedargs=suffix%3DArticleController
-— “Alan Jessop, a sale representative for Gibson Square in the US, told the Bookseller website: ‘He is in
good spirits, but has put publication in suspended animation while he reflects and takes advice on what
the best foot forward is.’”
— Guardian: Muhammad novel publisher undeterred by firebomb attack (earlier report?)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/sep/29/jewel.of.medina.firebomb
(UK) New Shariah-compliant insurance company implements ISO solution to process personal injury
motor claims
http://www.targetwire.com/iba/2008/09/30/iso158/iso158_uk.html
Shariah Finance Watch: “Shariah Compliant Finance 101-Read between the lines-These articles
support Shariah, but they are important to understand, and to use for research”
http://www.shariahfinancewatch.org/blog/2008/10/01/shariah-compliant-finance-101-read-between-the-lines-these-articles-support-shariah-but-they-are-important-to-understand-and-to-use-for-research/
Moroccan King pardons 708 convicts on Islamic festive days of Eid Al-Fitr
http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=1941349&Language=en
Italy: Puglia to create its first Muslim cemetery
http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Religion/?id=3.0.2527013791
(India) This mosque has a Saddam link
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Cities/Modasa_mosque_has_a_Saddam_link_/articleshow/3546639.cms
(U.S.) Maryland/DC: Hand Grenade Found in Rock Creek Park
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/01/AR2008100100926.html?hpid=moreheadlines
Swedish Muslim finds Muhammad in a mango
http://www.thelocal.se/14672/20081001/
http://www.metro.se/se/article/2008/10/01/12/0345-57/index.xml
Propaganda:
(UK) Daily Telegraph: “Salman Rushdie taught liberals to hate Islam” — by Christopher Howse
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/christopher_howse/blog/2008/10/01/salman_rushdie_taught_liberals_to_hate_islam
-— decries the “secularist haters of Islam pretend that that they have a sacred principle of their own,
which is freedom of speech, freedom to publish”
Commentaries:
FrontPageMagazine.com: “Black Racists Recruited to Guide the Jihad” — by John Perazzo
http://frontpagemagazine.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=0F03A69D-2986-4CE8-9158-C986849424D5
-— article questions links of Khalid Abdullah Tariq al-Mansour, As-Sabiqun’s Imam Abdul Alim Musa,
Sheikh Khalid Yasin, Amir-Abdel Malik-Ali, Muhammad al-Asi
-— states that “[t]hey are each major players in an Islamic jihad that has taken root in U.S. soil”
Human Events: “Al Qaeda’s Iraqi Retreat” — by Rowan Scarborough
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=28804
Against Nazi News:
Australian Holocaust denier arrested — Gerald Toben
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24434185-23109,00.html
-— Australian Holocaust denier arrested at Heathrow on EU warrant
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1222017429938&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/3116061/Holocaust-denier-Gerald-Toben-arrested-at-Heathrow.html
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article4861271.ece
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